No wonder John. D. Rockerfeller was and still is considered the most successful businessman in America to date. Look at this smug motherfucker.
I took this solid piece of advice and ran with it a few years ago. Why? For me it summarized everything I needed to do to get to destination happy-with-myself. I suffered mild depression which got worse towards the end of my 7 and a half year stay in England. Eating for comfort was a regular thing for me. I remember two weeks before my 24th birthday I weighed in at 96 kgs (Mind you I’m only 5’2″). No, I didn’t take many photos then.
So I gave up a job in gloomy England that started me off at a cool £40,000 a year to come earn a fraction of that in sunny Kenya (I think Rockerfeller just turned in his grave).
I’d also struggled with moving on and letting go of an almost 5 year relationship that had ended about 2 years earlier. I had to choose whether to give up my Kenyan citizenship for a British one. Life was good in England. But it wasn’t great. That was then.
Now I find myself still having to do the same thing. Give up the good for the great. I try give up empty calories for nutrient dense food (I don’t diet though, I love food too much). I constantly have to give up late nights for early morning gym sessions and with that a life of solitude and recluse. I’m just kidding. But seriously, you really need supportive friends who will understand when you can’t make it to a party because you need to make it to the gym at 5:00am so that you get to work on time. Yes, I do that(I miss parties to make it to the gym.) And I thank God for those friends. They come in many forms.
But I also pray to the fitness gods to save me from unwarranted advice from a few people, who think they know what I should do to stay in shape. To stay afloat. To be happy. According to the gospel of…. never mind. And when I don’t give in, they try to coerce me into a night of frolicking and drinking (You know who you are, I still love you and I hope you stillcall me after this). What to do? And you all know I love vino. Another thing, I also spend a big part of my hard earned money on the stuff that keeps me going. I won’t even go into how much I spend a year on health products. Two gym memberships, one close to home, and one close to work, a yoga membership, workout gear, shakes, regular physiotherapy, at least a couple of visits to a chiropractor and don’t forget that deep tissue!
It’s so hard to make people see things from your point of view. Importance. Priorities. Opportunity costs. Regret. Happiness. All these things are relative. No one can put a price on self-love. What you’re willing to do, to feel a certain way, or not feel a certain way. Listen people, FOMO is a short term illness with long term effects. Don’t worry. I could have probably owned a second car by now, and saved enough to get a place. I might even have had 5 or 6 digits in my account, but the truth is, nothing tastes as good as fit feels. And you can take that to the bank.
With all the love I have.
W.
